Questing For Respect
by ravengal
Summary: Set after Mystery Dungeon 2. A Buneary joins a guild, with big dreams of being an explorer. Meeting a Pikachu, however, may prove to be both a blessing and a curse for her. Just what has she gotten herself into?
1. A New Life

Author's note: Howdy, one and all! Here's a new fic that I came up with in two days. I kid you not. Two days! That's a personal record.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. If any details confuse you, it's because they're brand new! Made up by me!

P.P.S. I originally wanted to cram more into this chapter, but it's long enough, so it can go into the next one. Onward!

* * *

**Chapter One: A New Life**

Buneary took a shuddering breath as she stood before the gate. This was it. She'd finally made it all the way to Venture Village and was now standing in front of the fabled Blaziken Guild. It towered above her, its shape resembling the face of a Blaziken, and she tentatively took a few steps towards it.

Was she really ready for this? She'd travelled all the way here from Foggy Forest, so it would be a complete waste to head back now. Gulping, she grabbed the rope and rang the bell.

She waited, squirming uncomfortably under the gaze of the nearby periscope. The Pokemon on the other end was probably analyzing her at that very moment. After what seemed like a very long wait, the gate suddenly opened. She looked up to see an Empoleon waving her inside.

"Come in!" he said.

Sighing in relief, she entered. "Thanks," she mumbled shyly.

After following him down the ladder, she looked around her in amazement. There were so many Pokemon dotted around in groups, some chatting avidly and others staring at bulletin boards. It was amazing.

"This way, please."

"Okay..." She followed him across the room. A few of the Pokemon looked at her as she passed, which made her feel slightly nervous.

He led her to a room with an impressively large door that was decorated with carvings. He opened the door and led her inside. "Here you go." He indicated the guildmaster.

Buneary's eyes widened in awe as Blaziken stood up from her chair, her eyes trained on her. Was this really the legendary Blaziken? The one who had gone to the future and saved the planet from paralysis?

"H-Hello!"

"Hello," Blaziken replied. "How may I help you?"

"I... I'm... here to..." Her throat locked up.

"Are you here to form an exploration team?" Unable to reply, Buneary nodded enthusiastically. "I see." Blaziken paused. "Do you have a partner?"

"H... Huh?"

Blaziken folded her arms. "While it's possible to do missions on your own, I wouldn't recommend it. You need at least one partner to form an exploration team."

Buneary's spirits dropped. "Oh..." How was she going to be a great explorer _now_? Just where the heck was she going to find a partner?

"Hmm..." Blaziken looked up. "Empoleon?"

"Yes, guildmaster?" Empoleon replied.

Blaziken smirked slightly, then let the smirk drop. "Are Team Nebula still in the guild?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Bring them in here. I need to talk to them."

"Right away, Blaziken!" There were a few thudding footsteps as he left the room.

Blaziken looked back down at Buneary. "I have an idea how to solve your predicament... and I know the perfect Pokemon for the job."

Buneary was confused about the comment, but didn't say anything. Soon enough, Empoleon returned, leading two Pokemon into the room, both of which had bags over their shoulders.

"What's the deal, guildmaster?" the Grumpig asked, her paws on her hips.

"Did we do something wrong?" the Maractus asked, looking worried.

"Not at all," Blaziken replied, unfolding her arms. "This is our new recruit, Buneary." Both Pokemon looked at the rabbit, who shrunk under their gaze. "At the moment, she doesn't have an exploration team of her own, so I wondered if she'd be allowed to join _yours_."

Maractus's face instantly lit up. "A new member?" she asked excitedly. "Oh, of course! I love making new friends!" She dashed forwards and grabbed Buneary, lifting her off the ground into a hug. "Hello, new friend!"

"Argh!" Buneary screamed, the spikes on Maractus's arms digging into her skin.

Grumpig sighed, a paw on her face. After a moment, she removed it and smiled. "Sure, why not," she said.

"Team Nebula are fairly experienced explorers," Blaziken explained. "They're also very reliable, friendly and accepting."

"Ack! Great!" Buneary replied. She might have been more enthusiastic if the hug she was being given wasn't so painful.

"Make sure to take it easy with her, you two. She's brand new to the guild and may need easing into things."

"Yeah!" Empoleon added. "We wouldn't want her biting off more than she can chew!"

"We will," Grumpig replied. "Right, Maractus?"

Maractus giggled, rocking Buneary from side to the side. "Of course!" she replied. "We'll look after our new friend. That's a promise!"

"Very well," Blaziken said.

Grumpig sighed again. "You can let her go now," she said.

"Okay!" Maractus replied, dropping Buneary.

"Ow ow ow..." Buneary muttered, nursing her arm.

"Congratulations, Buneary," Blaziken said. Buneary looked up at her. "You're now an official member of the guild."

She stared at her for a moment, blinking, before it finally sank in. She beamed from ear to ear, the happiest she'd felt in a long time. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" she cried, jumping up to hug her leg. After a moment, she jumped away again, feeling more confident than ever. "I won't let you down, guildmaster! I'll be the best explorer I can be!"

Blaziken chuckled. "I'm sure you will. Get along, now. You've got missions to do and poke to earn."

"Yes, ma'am!" Buneary paused, then looked at her new teammates uncertainly.

Grumpig gave a light smirk. "This way, kid," she said. "We'll show you the ropes."

Maractus bounded up and down. "It's time to look at the bulletin boards!" she cried.

Buneary walked over to them, a little bothered by how much taller they both were than her. Not only was she the newbie on her exploration team, but the shrimp, too?

* * *

"Hmm..." Grumpig said as she stared at the bulletin board.

"Which mission should we go on, Grumpig?" Maractus asked.

"I dunno..." Grumpig looked at Buneary. "We're bronze rank, so we can handle a few tough missions, but we were told to go easy for Buneary's sake." Buneary looked away and scuffed her foot on the floor.

"I'm thinking we should start with an E rank! Get her to learn the ropes!"

"Have you ever done anything like this before, Buneary?"

Buneary turned back to look at Grumpig. "No, I haven't," she replied.

"Alright, E rank it is, then." Grumpig turned back to the bulletin board. "You're not ready for outlaws yet, so we'll do something simple."

Buneary felt slightly ashamed and embarrassed. "Okay."

"Hmm... Oh, how about _this_ one?" Grumpig pulled one of the notices off the board and handed it to Maractus.

Maractus read it. "Oh, that's perfect!" she replied. She handed it to Buneary. "What do _you_ think, Buneary?

"Hmm..." Buneary said, reading it. "'Help me!'" She read further down. "'I lost in a battle... Please, I need help!' Rescue Caterpie. Beach Cave. Rank E." She realised with a slight sad feeling that E was probably the easiest rank available. "Reward: one thousand poke and a reviver seed." Her eyes widened. "_One thousand poke_?"

"Actually," Grumpig replied, "we only get ten percent. The rest goes to the guild."

"Oh..."

"So, do you wanna do the mission?"

"Sure, we can do it, if you want."

"Alright, then. Let's head into Venture Village and get our supplies."

Buneary followed Team Nebula out of the guild, once again passing the various teams that were milling around, and headed towards the village. She'd already seen it, since she'd walked through it on her way to the guild, but, now that she wasn't focused solely on her nerves, she was able to appreciate it a lot more.

The area was bustling with Pokemon, some of which were talking to other Pokemon over the counters of stalls. Soon enough, they reached a stall that had two Sneasel standing behind it, one black and one pink. The pink one had a shorter feather on its head than the black one did.

"Hi, there," Grumpig said.

"Hello, Team Nebula!" the black Sneasel said. "What can my sister and I help you with today?"

"Ooh..." the pink Sneasel said, leaning over the counter and smirking at Buneary, "who's this, then?"

"This is Buneary!" Maractus said happily. "She's the newest member of our team!"

"Is that so?" The pink Sneasel straightened up again. "Well, nice to meet you."

"Indeed!" the black Sneasel agreed. "Now there are _two_ rabbits in Team Nebula!"

Maractus giggled. "That's right!" she replied. "And it's soooo nice not to be the only rabbit anymore!"

"How lovely! So, what can we help you with today?"

"We need some more apples and Oran berries," Grumpig replied.

"Coming right up! How many do you need?"

"Hmm..." Grumpig quickly checked her inventory. "Looks like we need two Oran berries and one apple."

"Okay, then!" The black Sneasel gathered up the food items and put them on the counter. "That'll be forty-five poke, please!"

"I got it!" Maractus said, fishing around in her bag. After a moment, she put the money on the counter and Grumpig put the food items in her bag.

"Thanks for your business!"

"Alright," Grumpig said, turning away, "now let's head to Vespiquen Storage."

Once again, Buneary followed her new team across the village square. Soon enough, they came to another stand that had a Vespiquen floating behind it.

"Greetings, Team Nebula," Vespiquen said. "How may I help you?"

"We'd like to take out some items, please." Grumpig turned to Maractus. "What do _you_ want?"

"I'll take a Detect Band!" Maractus replied. "I got hit too much on the last mission, so I wanna raise my evasiveness."

"Okay." Grumpig turned back to Vespiquen. "Let's see..."

Maractus giggled. "I think you should take a Stamina Band. Maybe it'll help you eat less of our food!"

Grumpig blushed slightly, not looking at Maractus. "Very funny, Maractus."

"Okay," Vespiquen said, pulling two scarves out of a drawer and placing them on the counter, "so that's one Detect Band and one Stamina Band."

"Hey!"

"What about the _other_ Pokemon?"

Grumpig looked at Buneary. "Hmm... I guess we should give her a Zinc Band. That'll boost her special defense."

Buneary's spirits lowered and her ears drooped. "Um, actually..." she said.

"Hmm?"

"I... I can't use items..."

Grumpig blinked at her. "You can't?"

Buneary looked down. "No..."

There was a pause. "I see," Vespiquen said, "you have the ability Klutz, don't you?" Buneary silently nodded. "That's a shame."

"My species has the two most useless abilities ever: Klutz and Run Away."

"Huh..." Grumpig said.

"Aww, Run Away's not so bad!" Maractus said. "It can prove useful sometimes!"

"Mmm..." Buneary replied, still staring at the ground.

"Aww, is there anything we can do, Grumpig?"

"Hmm..." Grumpig replied, "not a lot, unfortunately."

There was another pause. "I have an idea," Vespiquen said, digging around. Buneary looked up as she pulled something out and placed it on the counter. "This is your Plain Ribbon."

"Oh yeah, that old thing. I meant to sell it a while ago, but forgot all about it."

"It doesn't actually do anything, but it looks pretty." Vespiquen picked it back up and held it out to Buneary. "This is so you don't feel left out."

Buneary slowly took the Plain Ribbon and stared at it in wonder. After a few moments, she tied it around her neck.

"Oh, it looks so cute on you!" Maractus said.

Grumpig nodded. "Yeah, it looks good!" she said.

Buneary gave a shy smile. "Thanks," she replied.

"Alright, then." Grumpig grabbed both scarves that were on the counter, tossing the Detect Band to Maractus. "Let's head out!"

* * *

It was so exciting. Buneary was heading off on her very first exploration. It was the start of something big; she could feel it. Every cell in her body quivered in joy from the thought of what she could accomplish. She would prove herself to be the greatest explorer in the world, no matter what it took!

It had taken a bit of travelling to reach their destination, as Venture Village hadn't been built close to Beach Cave. However, before long, they had reached the outskirts of another town. This one was also bustling with stalls and exploration teams, but Buneary had no idea where she was. She stopped in her tracks to examine the place.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Her teammates stopped next to her. "This is Treasure Town," Grumpig replied. "It was built right next to Beach Cave, which is over _that_ way." She pointed to the left.

"Oh, I see."

"This town is the home of the famous Wigglytuff Guild!" Maractus said, pointing to the right. "Over _that_ way. It's where our guildmaster trained, back when she was a recruit!"

"Really?" Buneary's eyes widened. "So... she really _is_ the...?"

"The fabled leader of Team Destiny?" Grumpig said. "Yeah, she is... though Team Destiny technically doesn't exist anymore."

"Wow..."

"Anyway, we'd best get moving. We've got a Caterpie to rescue."

"Oh! Right!"

Turning left, they headed down the path. Eventually, they happened upon a beach, where a cave resided at the other end. Upon seeing it, Buneary took a shuddering breath. This was it: her first mission.

* * *

The cave was dark and damp. It wasn't the kind of place that Buneary would like to live and it made her nervous. What awaited her in here? Would the Caterpie be okay? Would she do well on her first mission?

"I forgot how wet this place is," Grumpig said, pulling a face at the water dripping from the ceiling.

"I like it!" Maractus said.

"You would. You're a grass-type."

Maractus suddenly paused. "Uh-oh! There's a Pokemon approaching!"

Buneary's heart skipped a beat as Grumpig prepared herself. She knew first-hand that a lot of Pokemon were very territorial, particularly when it came to explorers. After a moment, a Kabuto rounded the corner, glaring at them.

Without warning, he lunged at Maractus. "Scratch attack!" he yelled.

Maractus dodged out of the way, causing the Kabuto to land in-between Buneary and Grumpig. The grass-type quickly built up a ball of green energy in front of her mouth.

"Energy Ball!" she cried, shooting it towards the Kabuto. Upon impact, it knocked the Pokemon out instantly. Maractus giggled. "Yay!"

Buneary was impressed. "Wow..." she said.

"Come on," Grumpig said, "let's keep going."

This continued on for a while. Every time a Pokemon attacked them, it was treated to an Energy Ball from Maractus, most of which it took out in one hit, due to being quadruple effective. On the odd occasion that it didn't, Grumpig would help out with a Psybeam. Descending the stairs, they quickly found the Caterpie.

"Oh, thank you!" he cried, most likely noticing their bags and identifying them as explorers. "You found me! I'm so happy! It was so scary in here!"

"No need to worry anymore," Grumpig said, pulling a badge from her bag. She held the badge in the air and put a paw on the Caterpie's head.

Maractus put a hand on Grumpig's shoulder, which caused the pig to flinch. "Hang on to us, Buneary!" she said.

"Okay," Buneary replied, walking over and putting a paw on Grumpig's leg. After a moment, the four of them teleported away.

* * *

Buneary felt rather dizzy after appearing back in the guild. Once she recovered, though, Team Nebula was given their one hundred poke and reviver seed. The rest of the money, just as Grumpig had said, went to the guild. This was annoying, but she supposed that they needed it for upkeep. As well as this, Blaziken had apparently awarded them ten explorer rank points.

"That was a good day's work, Buneary," Grumpig said with a smile.

"Yeah, but I didn't really do anything..." Buneary replied.

"Well, you're still learning the ropes!" Maractus said. "You'll be a valuable member of the team in _no_ time!"

Buneary gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"Here," Grumpig said, opening her bag, "let's put our scarves away."

* * *

The dining hall looked like a canteen. It was full of small tables that could each seat four Pokemon. Buneary sat with her teammates and happily munched away on the apples and berries that had been prepared by Empoleon.

During dinner, Blaziken came over. "Buneary?" she asked.

Buneary looked up at her. "Yes?" she replied.

"We have one spare room left in the guild. Would you like to sleep in there?"

"Um..." Buneary glanced at Grumpig and Maractus.

Grumpig shrugged. "There's not a lot of space in _our_ room," she said, "so you might be better _off_ doing that."

"Will you be okay on your own?" Maractus asked, looking worried.

Buneary smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied.

"Alright, then," Blaziken said.

After finishing up dinner, she was shown to her room. Inside were two beds of hay, which looked very appealing to the now exhausted Buneary. Saying goodnight to her guildmaster and teammates, she lay down on one of them and closed her eyes. As she slowly drifted off, she smiled to herself. Today had been a great day and she was sure that there were many more to come.


	2. The Calm

Author's note: Hello again! Another chapter for your viewing pleasure! Please enjoy!

Also, I made a mistake last chapter. It's minor, but still. I wanted it to be Blaziken who awards explorer rank points, not Empoleon, so I've fixed that.

Oh and, before you ask, attacks in Mystery Dungeon work differently to attacks in the anime. That is all.

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Calm**

Buneary jolted awake to the loud clanging sound of a huge bell. She squinted through her blurry eyes, wondering what was going on. Also, where the heck was she?

"Up and at 'em, campers!" an Empoleon's voice called out through a megaphone of some sort. "It's morning!" Looking up, she could see one attached to the corner of the ceiling.

_... Wait a minute..._ she thought drearily, _an Empoleon?_ Then it suddenly hit her and her eyes snapped open. _The guild! I joined the guild yesterday!_

The door opened with Grumpig standing behind it. She was smiling at her, while rubbing her eye. "Time to get up, kid," she said. "We need to be at the assembly."

Buneary stretched and stood up. "Assembly?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's a routine we have every morning. Now, come on, or we'll be late."

Buneary yawned and followed her out the door. "Okay."

After a trek down the hallway, she and Grumpig emerged into the main room, where the other teams were starting to assemble.

"Morning, Buneary!" Maractus said, bounding over. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did, thanks."

Soon, Blaziken exited her office and stood before them. The crowd fell silent.

"Good morning, guild members," she said.

"Good morning, guildmaster!" everyone chanted. Buneary made a mental note to join in with that tomorrow.

"Another glorious day is upon us, which means only one thing."

Everyone pumped their arms into the air, startling Buneary. "Rescue!" They pumped their arms a second time. "Arrest!" They pumped their arms a third time. "Earn!"

"And remember..."

"Smiles go for miles!"

"Alright, everyone, time to get to work."

Everyone pumped their arms a fourth time. "Huzzah!"

Blaziken nodded and went back inside her office. The other Pokemon in the room all separated into their groups.

Slightly shaken, Buneary turned to Grumpig. "What the heck was _that_?" she asked.

Grumpig turned to her. "Oh, that?" she replied. "Like I said, we do that every morning. Apparently, it's a revised version of something the Wigglytuff Guild does every morning."

"I see..."

"So, you must be the newbie?" a voice asked. Buneary turned to see a Whimsicott smiling at her. "Nice to meet you!"

"Hi," Buneary replied.

"Daww," the Corsola next to her said, "she's so precious."

"So, you're a member of Team Nebula now, huh?" Whimsicott asked.

"Yeah, I am," Buneary replied.

Whimsicott puffed out her chest. "We're Team Cuties! No other team is more adorable than _we_ are!"

"Got _that_ right!" Corsola said.

"That's a point," Grumpig said. Buneary turned back to her. "We should introduce you to the _other_ teams in the guild."

"Ooh!" Maractus said. "That sounds like fun!"

"Come on." Grumpig led Buneary across the room to where a Rufflet and a Ducklett were discussing something. "That's Team Cloud."

"Aww, come on, dude!" Ducklett whined, flapping his wings in indignation. "I wanna do a rescue mission for once! When's the last time we did one of those?"

"But I much prefer going after outlaws," Rufflet replied, ruffling his feathers in distaste. "Leave the rescues to the _other_ teams."

Grumpig then led Buneary to where an Umbreon and a Banette were having an argument. "And that, over there, is Team Shadow," she said.

"I can't believe you ate my last apple!" the Umbreon yelled, his nostrils flaring. "I needed that for the next dungeon!"

"We'll, I'm _sorry_!" the Banette replied, waving her arms around as she floated in front of him. "I can't help it if I'm suddenly _starving_ in the middle of the night!"

"You greedy little-"

"Hey, watch it!"

"Just for that, _you_ have to buy the next batch!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Grumpig gently pushed Buneary towards the ladder and away from the argument. After ascending to the upper floor, Grumpig led her towards the bulletin board, where a Pansear and a Deino were studying the job requests.

"Hmm," Pansear said, "_this_ one looks good!"

"I dunno..." Deino replied, curling his lip in thought. He suddenly spotted Buneary. "Oh, hello there."

Pansear turned to see who his partner had spoken to. His mouth split into a wide grin. "Oh, hey there, newbie!"

Buneary scuffed her foot on the floor awkwardly. "Hi," she replied. Was everyone around here really going to think of her as the newbie?

Pansear smugly pointed to himself with his thumb. "We're Team Awesome! The best explorers there ever were or _will_ be!"

"Yup," Deino said.

"Yeah..." Grumpig said. "Anyway, let's look up a job to do today."

"Okay!" Maractus replied.

"Eh," Deino said, "I felt like doing an outlaw mission anyway."

Pansear shrugged. "Sure, if you want," he replied. "Though, whatever Team Awesome does, you just know that they'll be awesome at it!"

"Let's go." The two shuffled off to look at the other bulletin board.

"Alright, then," Grumpig said, turning to the board, "hmm..."

"Ooh!" Maractus said, bounding forwards and plucking one off the board. "How about _this_ one?"

Grumpig read the notice. "'While exploring...'" She paused a second. "I got lost while exploring! Someone, help!' Rescue Smoochum. Beach Cave. Rank E. Reward: one thousand poke and Gravelrock.'" How does _that_ sound, Buneary?"

"Sounds fine to me," Buneary replied.

"Alright." Grumpig looked down at her. "You want your Plain Ribbon again?"

Buneary nodded. "Yup!"

The ribbon may not actually do anything, but wearing it truly made her feel like a member of the guild. Plus, this way, she wasn't using up any scarves that either Grumpig or Maractus might need.

"Okay... and I think I'll swap my Stamina Band for a Defense Scarf."

"I wanna keep my Detect Band!" Maractus said.

"Alright, then."

After swapping out Grumpig's scarf, the trio paid a visit to Lairon Bank. As they approached, Buneary noticed that the Lairon behind the counter looked rather bored and irritated. Only when he saw them did he suddenly perk up.

"Hello!" he said. "How can I help you, Team Nebula?"

"We'd like to make a deposit," Grumpig replied.

"Sure thing!"

* * *

Over the next week, Buneary continued to do E rank missions with Team Nebula. One she'd learned the ropes, the two of them had stepped aside and let her do some of the fighting herself. She had to say, it wasn't nearly as easy as they'd made it look. Her only attacks, at the moment, were Dizzy Punch and Bounce and, while decent, didn't quite have the power to take on the world just yet.

They also began to ease her into doing multiple missions at once. On one floor, they'd rescue a Pokemon, on another, they'd find a missing item and, on another, they'd rescue someone's lost child. All in all, Buneary found it to be a very enlightening and enjoyable experience. She was finally getting a taste of what being an explorer was all about.

She'd also learned a little bit about her teammates in the time that she'd spent with them. It had turned out that the reason they were called Team Nebula was because the two of them loved astronomy. They'd said that they often sat awake in their room at the guild and stared up at the stars through their window together.

She'd also enjoyed having a room to herself. It was kind of sad not being able to share the room with anyone else, but no one had joined the guild since she'd arrived, so there was no one to fill the empty bed. It made her wonder, some nights, if she'd ever be able to form a team of her own. Then again, Grumpig and Maractus were becoming fairly good friends of hers, so she figured that it might not be _so_ bad if she became a permanent member of Team Nebula. Blaziken had told her that, if that's what she wanted to do, she'd grant her her own badge and treasure bag, but, honestly, she still wasn't sure.

* * *

"Hey, Buneary," Grumpig said, "what do you think about taking on an outlaw?"

Buneary froze, her eyes widening as she looked up at Grumpig. "An outlaw?" she asked.

Maractus gasped. "Do you think she's ready?" she asked.

"I think so," Grumpig replied. "Besides, I was getting a little bored of rescue missions, if I'm honest. Haven't caught a decent outlaw in ages."

Buneary blinked a couple of times, then shook herself out of it. "Yes!" she cried. "I'd love to catch an outlaw!" This was it, the next step up to being the greatest explorer ever.

"You sure, kid?"

Buneary nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"

"Well, okay." Grumpig led her over to the _other_ bulletin board.

Buneary's eyes were sparkling. She'd done so many missions from the job bulletin board, but she'd never been able to so much as _look_ at the outlaw notice board. Gazing up at it in wonder, she saw the faces of many different Pokemon, all sketched by an artist. If she had to hazard a guess, she'd put her money on that artist being a Smeargle.

"So, which one shall we do?" Maractus asked, bounding up and down. Buneary quite liked the strange maraca noise that the cactus made when she did that.

"Hmm..."

"Ooh!" Whimsicott said, sliding up to stand beside Buneary. "So, you're taking on some outlaws, huh? Well, good luck!"

Buneary smiled at her. "Thanks!" she replied.

"_We_ captured an outlaw yesterday!" Corsola said bouncing over to stand next to Whimsicott.

"Yeah, I saw."

"She put up quite a fight!" Whimsicott said.

"Yeah, she really did. You two did a good job restraining her, though!"

Corsola giggled. "Thanks!" she replied.

"Nothing Team Cuties couldn't handle!" Whimsicott added.

"Oh, here's a good one," Grumpig said, pulling a poster off the board. "'Pushy Eevee.'" She paused. "'Don't let appearances fool you! Please help with this investigation!" Arrest Eevee. Last seen in Tiny Meadow. Rank D. Reward: fifteen-hundred poke."

Buneary's jaw dropped. "Rank _D_?" she asked in disbelief. "We're doing a rank _D_?"

Grumpig smiled at her. "Sure, kid. I think you've proven you're ready for it. What do _you_ think?"

"Yes! Yes! I wanna do the D rank!"

Grumpig chuckled. "Alright, then."

Maractus giggled. "Aww!" she said. "You made her so happy, Grumpig!"

"Okay, let's get ourselves ready and head over to Tiny Meadow."

Buneary couldn't believe it. Her first D rank mission! And she'd be arresting an outlaw!

* * *

Tiny Meadow turned out to be very pretty, with its grassy fields and various flowers. Buneary might have liked the place a bit more, however, if she didn't get a strange foreboding feeling about it. She wasn't sure what it was, but the dungeon didn't feel very friendly.

"Yay!" Maractus said, bounding along, "I love Tiny Meadow! It's so green and pretty and wonderful!"

"It's alright," Grumpig replied.

Suddenly, a Skiploom drifted around the corner, unheard because there had been no footsteps. Team Nebula halted in their tracks, preparing for battle.

The Skiploom blinked at them a couple of times, a confused look on her face, then she scowled. "Stupid trespassing explorers," she growled. She lunged at them. "Your kind aren't welcome here! Splash attack!" She hit the grass, bounced off and smacked straight into Grumpig.

"Ow!"

"Grumpig!" Maractus called out.

Taking the initiative, Buneary sent energy to the tips of her ears and jumped towards the Skiploom. "Dizzy Punch!" she cried. Her ears pounded the grass/flying-type over and over again.

"Argh!" the Skiploom cried out in pain. Growling again, she opened her mouth. "Bullet Seed!" A barrage of tiny seeds shot from her mouth in rapid succession, each one colliding painfully with Buneary's skin.

"Argh!"

"I got this, Buneary!" Maractus called out. Nodding, Buneary backed away. The needles on Maractus's hands began to glow as she held them out in front of her. "Pin Missile!" Spiked streams of white energy flowed from her fingertips and into Skiploom, who shrieked before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

* * *

The rest of the trek through Tiny Meadow was spent much in the same vein as with the first Skiploom. Any aggressive Pokemon that they came across were swiftly taken care of by the team, though the battles weren't quite as easy as the ones in Beach Cave had been. Whilst Maractus had been able to take _them_ out in one hit, she didn't have the same advantage here. She had particular trouble whenever they encountered a Staravia, but Buneary and Grumpig would help out accordingly. The Breloom, however, were no match for a couple of Psybeams from Grumpig.

The team was on the third floor of the dungeon when they turned a corner to see the Pokemon they'd been searching for. There he was, lying off to one side, apparently taking a nap. Buneary's eyes widened. Right there was her very first outlaw.

"Eevee..." Grumpig growled.

"Let's go get him," Maractus said.

Buneary looked up at the cactus. Her expression seemed rather serious. It was an odd sight, for sure.

Grumpig and Maractus moved forwards, so Buneary followed them. It seemed strangely easy, just creeping up on the outlaw like this. Would they just be able to knock him out without a fight?

This train of thought was dashed as she saw an eye open. Once he spotted them, he leapt to his feet and snarled. "Explorers!" he said.

"Time to come quietly, Eevee!" Grumpig said.

"Yeah!" Maractus said. "Time for pay for your crimes!"

"Never!" Eevee replied, readying a battle stance. Team Nebula did the same. He lowered his head and charged towards them. "Take Down!"

Buneary and Grumpig managed to dodge out of the way, but Maractus wasn't fast enough, so he rammed straight into her stomach.

"Oof!" She fell over, but so did Eevee, both groaning in pain.

Grumpig held up her paws and a large yellow ball of energy grew in-between them. "Power Gem!" she cried, shooting it towards Eevee.

The impact caused a small explosion that sent him flying away from Maractus, screaming all the way. When he landed on the other side of the room, he angrily pushed himself to his feet with some effort.

"Why, you..." He opened his mouth and a small black ball, crackling with energy, grew in front of him. He ran towards Grumpig and, with horror, Buneary realised what was about to happen. "Shadow Ball!" He released it and it flew towards the psychic-type.

Thinking quickly, Buneary jumped in front of Grumpig, scrunching her eyes in preparation. The Shadow Ball hit her in the face and caused her to slide backwards across the grass. Her back bumped into Grumpig's stomach. Her face hurt slightly from the attack.

"Buneary!" Grumpig cried. "Are you alright?"

She looked up at her and nodded. "I'm fine," she replied. Being a normal-type had its advantages, sometimes.

Grumpig smiled. "Thanks."

"Poison Jab!" Maractus cried. Buneary looked back quickly and saw the grass-type punch Eevee in the side with spikes that were glowing purple.

Eevee screamed and hit the grass, sliding along it for a moment before coming to a stop. He didn't get up again.

"Heh," Grumpig said. "Good work, team!"

Maractus beamed, jumping up and down. "Yay!"

Staring in amazement, Buneary's mouth slowly spread into a grin. She had no regrets of becoming an explorer. None at all.

* * *

It had been fun capturing that outlaw, Buneary thought as morning assembly ended the next day. She hoped to meet Officer Magnezone and his Magnemite patrol a lot more in the future. It had been very satisfying being thanked by them and watching them take Eevee away, even if they _had_ looked like they were being worked off their non-existant feet. It had also been fun helping to restrain Eevee while waiting for Officer Magnezone, though he'd been too exhausted from the fight to put up much of a struggle.

Once the teams all went their separate ways, Grumpig, once again, led Team Nebula up the ladder and towards the outlaw notice board. This made Buneary excited. It seemed she'd done a good job yesterday and had been deemed able to capture more outlaws! She could hardly wait.

As they approached, they noticed Empoleon switching out the wanted posters. He looked up and smiled at them. "Good morning, Team Nebula!" he said. "Off to catch another outlaw?"

"You know it, Empoleon," Grumpig replied.

"I'll leave you to it, then." He walked off with the old pile of posters in his giant flippers.

The team turned to the notice board. "Okay, then... who should we go after next?"

Buneary scanned the posters with intrigue. There were so many outlaws to capture and so little time. It was a pity that a couple of them were so high rank. They were a bit out of her skill zone at the moment, though maybe Grumpig and Maractus could handle them.

Looking down at eye-level on the large board, she saw something that caught her eye. Unable to pull her gaze away, she slowly plucked it from the board and stared at it. She wasn't sure why, but this one in particular intrigued her.

"What have you got _there_, Buneary?" Maractus asked.

Buneary lifted up the poster for Maractus to see. On it was a sketch of a Pikachu.


	3. The Storm

Author's note: Howdy! Not much to say this time, so I'll just say this: enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Storm**

Maractus leaned in closer. "'Rowdy Pikachu,'" she read. "'This crook steals personal treasures! Help us apprehend this wrongdoer!' Arrest Pikachu. Last seen in Mount Bristle. Rank C. Reward: two thousand poke and a grass gummi." She moved away, smiling. "Ooh, a grass gummi! I haven't had one of _those_ in a while!"

"Rank C?" Grumpig asked skeptically. "I'm not sure you're ready for rank C yet, kid."

Buneary analysed the poster. Yes, it was true that the rank _was_ a little high for her current skill level – especially since she'd done her first ever D rank only yesterday – but something about the sketch was compelling her to go after this outlaw. She wasn't quite sure what it was.

Now that she looked at it, the Pokemon's face was quite attractive. If the sketch was accurate, then he was handsome in an adorably cute way. She really couldn't believe that she was thinking such things about an outlaw, but it was true.

It was kind of a pity that he _was_ an outlaw, really. She would have loved to meet him in person, otherwise. He was just so darn cute! And he looked to be in good shape, too, if, again, the sketch was accurate.

She sighed. "I guess not..." she replied, about to put the poster back.

"Hold on a second," Maractus said.

She looked up at her. "Hmm?"

"If you wanna do this mission, I say we go for it!"

"But, Maractus..." Grumpig said.

"Here me out, Grumpig! Buneary clearly wants to do this mission... and _we're_ bronze rank, so we can handle it just fine... so I don't see why we shouldn't let her do it!"

"Hmm..."

"I know Buneary's still new at this... but _we'll_ be by her side the whole time! And, as a team, we can take down that outlaw!"

Grumpig smirked. "Yeah, you're right. I wasn't sure she could handle it, but she's a tough kid. Plus, we'll be there to help." She paused. "But you're mainly doing this for the grass gummi, aren't you?"

Maractus giggled. "Guilty as charged."

Grumpig shook her head in amusement, then looked at Buneary. "So, kid... you wanna go after a C rank?"

Buneary's eyes sparkled. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes!" she replied.

Grumpig chuckled. "Alright, then. Come on, let's go gather supplies."

On their way to the ladder, they passed Team Cloud, who were, interestingly enough, staring at the job bulletin board. Apparently, Ducklett had finally managed to convince Rufflet to do a rescue mission. Buneary felt strangely proud of him. After all, rescue missions were just as important in a guild as outlaw missions. She caught sight of Team Awesome also approaching the board before following her teammates up the ladder.

* * *

Buneary tugged anxiously on the Plain Ribbon around her neck as she looked around Mount Bristle. Everywhere the eye could see, there were pale-coloured rocks that looked crystalline in nature. She could almost consider it pretty, if she wasn't so busy thinking about what was to come on a later floor. Glancing at the treasure bag that was draped over Grumpig's shoulder, she pictured the wanted poster that lay within it.

She shook her head. No, an outlaw was an outlaw and needed to be brought to justice. It didn't matter how cute they were. Outlaws were evil Pokemon and it was an explorer's job to arrest them. Simple as that.

Her train of thought was interrupted as a Starly appeared around the corner. The flying/normal-type took one look at Team Nebula and tensed for battle. "Darned explorers..." he growled.

Team Nebula tensed in retaliation. Why did so many wild Pokemon have such a problem with explorers, anyway? They were only out to help their community, yet this happened every single time they went into a dungeon. Buneary knew they were territorial, but it was still rather ridiculous. She had several cousins who also hated explorers, but she couldn't imagine why.

"Come and get it, then," Grumpig said.

The Starly snarled. "Quick Attack!"

* * *

They battled many Pokemon on their way through the dungeon, sometimes two or more at once. Every Starly, Machop, Geodude, Spinarak and Doduo, however, fell just like the first, some with more difficulty than others. Buneary felt lucky to be on such a strong and capable team, as she really didn't think she could accomplish this alone.

It was on the fourth floor, after knocking out yet another Starly, that they turned a corner and found what they were looking for. There he was, the Pikachu from the wanted poster, with his back turned to them as he tinkered with a large pile of items. He also had something tied around his neck.

As they stepped closer, his ears pricked up and he spun around in surprise, holding what appeared to be a Geo Pebble in his paws. Buneary took one look at his face and her breath caught in her throat. He was even cuter in real life than he was on the poster!

"_Explorers_?" he asked.

"That's right, Pikachu!" Grumpig replied, readying a battle stance. "So surrender yourself before things get ugly!"

"Yeah!" Maractus added, also taking up a battle stance. This snapped Buneary out of her stupor. She also took up a battle stance.

Pikachu frowned, tossing aside the Geo Pebble and getting on all fours. "I don't think so," he replied.

Grumpig huffed. "Why do they never just surrender?" she asked irritably. A yellow ball of energy appeared between her paws. "Always have to be awkward. Power Gem!" She shot the attack at Pikachu.

Pikachu quickly rolled out of the way and the attack struck the ground where he'd been standing. There was a small explosion and his pile of items scattered everywhere.

"Thundeeeer..." Pikachu built up electricity in his cheeks. "Boooolt!"

It flew from him in an arc and headed straight for them. Buneary and Maractus managed to dodge out of the way, but Grumpig wasn't so lucky. She screamed in agony.

"Grumpig!" Maractus cried. Grumpig collapsed to the floor, twitching. Maractus quickly hopped over to her. "Are you alright?"

"Urgh..." she replied.

Buneary looked over at Pikachu in surprise. How had he managed to do _that_ much damage? He was only supposed to be a C rank and Grumpig was much tougher than _that_! She prepared herself for any on-coming attack, but was surprised, yet again, when Pikachu backed away from her, guarding the scattered pile of items.

"Grumpig?" There was a pause. "_You hurt Grumpig_!" Suddenly, Maractus charged straight at Pikachu, the needles on her hand glowing purple. "Poison Jab!"

Again, Pikachu managed to roll out of the way, only for the glowing needles to strike the ground. Turning around quickly, he charged up more electricity. "Thundeeeerboooolt!" Maractus screamed from the electrocution and dropped to the floor.

"Maractus!" Buneary cried.

"Ouch..." Grumpig said as she slowly sat up. "I thought so."

Buneary turned to her. "Huh?" she asked. "You thought _what_?"

Grumpig pointed to Pikachu. "See that thing on his neck? That's a Special Band."

"A Special Band?"

"Nice scarf, outlaw! Where'd you get it?"

"None of your business!" Pikachu replied, still guarding the pile of items.

"It powers up his special attacks... meaning his Thunderbolt's a bit more powerful than it _usually_ is."

Buneary felt her heart drop. "Oh..." she replied in dismay.

"Which means..." Grumpig pushed herself to her feet. "We might be in for a ride, here."

"Just leave me alone and nobody has to get hurt," Pikachu growled.

"Very funny, outlaw." The black orbs on Grumpig's head suddenly glowed a rainbow colour. "Psybeam!"

A stream of rainbow-coloured light shot out of them towards Pikachu. Before he could react, it hit him and he yelped in pain.

Maractus, still lying on the floor, turned her body around and held out her arms. The needles glowed white. "Pin Missle!" she yelled. White streaks of light zoomed towards Pikachu, striking him in the side. He yelped louder and flew back a couple of feet.

Grinding his teeth teeth in fury, he ran towards Maractus, his tail glowing white. Jumping into the air, he spun around. "Iron Tail!" he yelled.

His tail smacked Maractus in the face, sending her sliding across the floor. He landed back on his four paws and glared at Grumpig.

Grumpig balled a fist and punched it into her palm, then ran towards Pikachu. A green ball of energy appeared on her fist. "Drain Punch!" she cried.

Again, his tail glowed white before he jumped into the air and spun around. "Iron Tail!" The two attacks clashed, with Grumpig's fist pushing against Pikachu's tail. Pikachu flinched in mid-air from having his energy drained and flew backwards. Landing back on his paws, he skidded backwards slightly. He built up electricity again. "Thundeeeerboooolt!"

The attack, again, hit Grumpig and caused her to scream in agony. She collapsed to the floor a second time.

Gasping, Buneary looked at Pikachu, instantly locking eyes with him. It was almost as if the scowl on his face was daring her to attack him. She wasn't sure she could take him down, if Grumpig and Maractus were having trouble, but what kind of explorer would she be if she didn't, at least, try?

She frowned, sending energy to her ears, and ran towards him. "Dizzy Punch!" she yelled.

She swung her ear, but he dodged out of the way, his tail glowing white again. "Iron Tail!"

Seeing it just in time, she backflipped out of the way and quickly sent energy to her feet. "Bounce!"

When she hit the floor, she sprung up several feet, almost hitting her head on the dungeon ceiling. Turning, so that her foot was aimed at Pikachu, she launched herself back down again. Her foot connected with his face and sent him flying across the room. When he hit he floor, he rolled back onto his feet. As she stood there and stared him down, she noticed that he was panting slightly.

"Thundeeeer..." Only too late did she notice that he was aiming the attack at _her_. "Boooolt!"

The electricity flew towards her. At the last second, Maractus jumped in front of her and took the hit. She screamed in pain and collapsed again.

"Maractus!"

"Ow..." Maractus muttered. She cringed as she flashed her a half-smile. "Get the scarf, Buneary..."

The scarf? She looked up at Pikachu and, after a moment, suddenly realised what she was supposed to do. She frowned, took a deep breath and nodded, lunging towards the outlaw.

His tail glowed white, so she jumped into the air, a plan in mind. As predicted, he jumped into the air after her, swinging his tail around. "Iron Tail!" he yelled.

Doing a somersault over his tail, she reached out and grabbed the scarf. Her forward momentum pulled it straight off him.

The two of them landed on the floor and she lifted up the scarf in victory. "I did it!" she cried.

"Hey, my scarf! Thundeeeerbooolt!"

Before she could even turn around, she was electrocuted. Agony coursed through her veins, seizing up all of her muscles, and she screamed. When it was over, she collapsed to the floor.

_If that was the normal version,_ she thought, _I don't wanna know what the **powered-up** version is like..._

"Buneary!" Grumpig cried, rushing over. "Are you alright?"

"I... think so..." she replied.

"Nice work." Grumpig looked back over at Pikachu, the black orbs on her head glowing a rainbow colour. "Psybeam!"

"Energy Ball!" Maractus cried from across the room.

There were several explosions, then Grumpig ran away from Buneary to immerse herself in the fighting. Groaning, Buneary pushed herself into a sitting position to see better.

Pikachu jumped into the air. "Thundeeeerbooolt!" he yelled, zapping both Grumpig and Maractus at the same time. They both yelled in pain, but, when the electricity stopped and Pikachu landed back on all fours, they were still standing.

All three Pokemon now panting for breath, Grumpig smirked. "Yeah, that's definitely weaker," she said. Pikachu's eyes widened.

"Yup!" Maractus replied.

"It's about time we finished this." A green ball appeared over Grumpig's fist. "Don't you think, guys?"

"Agreed!" The spikes on Maractus's hand glowed purple. "Buneary?"

Buneary blinked, then suddenly realised that was her cue. "Oh!" she replied, smiling widely. She quickly hopped over to join them, sending energy to the tips of her ears. "Sure thing!"

Pikachu looked intimidated, but he clearly wasn't going down without a fight. His cheeks sparked. "Thundeeeer..." he said.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Grumpig yelled, charging forwards. Instinctively, Maractus and Buneary followed her. "Drain Punch!"

"Poison Jab!" Maractus yelled.

"Dizzy Punch!" Buneary yelled.

"Boooolt!" Pikachu yelled.

As the combined appendages of Team Nebula struck Pikachu in the face, he unleashed a wave of electricity, shocking all three of them at once. After a moment, there was a huge explosion and all four of them went flying in separate directions across the room. Buneary slid along the floor and crashed into a wall.

It took her a while to get the energy to sit back up again, but, once she did, she could see that Grumpig had crawled over to an unconscious Pikachu and was rooting around in her treasure bag. Glancing over at Maractus, she could see her gathering up the pile of items that was scattered around. She smiled, leaning her back against the wall. They'd done it. It had been a struggle, but her team had taken down a C rank outlaw. Man, did it feel good.

* * *

It had been an exhausting day, first fighting off all the Pokemon in the dungeon, then battling the outlaw that Grumpig and Maractus were currently tying up with rope in the kitchen, but Buneary was pleased. She'd accomplished a lot lately and was very proud of herself. One day, she would be the number one explorer, for sure!

After a final tug on the ropes by Grumpig, Pikachu's eyes slowly cracked open. Team Nebula put themselves on guard as he blinked and looked around him. Buneary was unsure about what he was going to do. Eevee had attempted to struggle yesterday, but had been too weak to break free of the ropes.

After a long moment, Pikachu's ears drooped and he stared miserably at the floor, not saying a word. Buneary blinked. Now _that_ was odd behaviour.

"You two watch the outlaw," Grumpig said, heading out the door. "I'm gonna tell Blaziken to call in Officer Magnezone."

"Okay!" Maractus replied. She then turned to the outlaw and shoved him to the floor. He flinched, but, otherwise, didn't respond at all. "Be back soon!"

"Will do!" Grumpig disappeared.

"Wanna help me, Buneary?"

"Uh..." Buneary replied, still observing the pain in Pikachu's eyes, "sure..." She walked over and held her paw against his head.

As the minutes ticked by, and many other exploration teams returned from their own trips out, some congratulating them on their arrest, one question continued to plague Buneary's mind: why was he not struggling? Even a completely exhausted Pokemon still has it in them to struggle, but Pikachu wasn't moving at all. He was just staring mindlessly at the floor. Why? She didn't understand it and it was really bothering her.

Eventually, Grumpig returned with Blaziken in tow. "Bad news, I'm afraid," Blaziken said.

"Oh?" Maractus asked, sounding worried. "What's wrong?"

"The Pelipper that I sent to Officer Magnezone has come back, saying he can't make it here today."

Maractus gasped. "What?"

Blaziken folded her arms. "It seems he's very busy dealing with the flood of outlaws across _other_ guilds right now and can't come here until tomorrow."

"Which means no grass gummi until tomorrow," Grumpig added with a small smirk.

"Aww!" Maractus whined. She paused. "Wait... why not just send some of his Magnemite here, in his place?"

Blaziken sighed. "Officer Magnezone has always been... very picky about that," she replied. "He likes to deal with every outlaw _personally_."

"But that's a lot of work for one Pokemon..." Buneary said.

"Indeed." Blaziken glanced down at the outlaw. "Well, it looks like _he'll_ have to stay _here_ for the night. It's rare that this happens, but it does, occasionally." Buneary's eyes widened.

Grumpig shrugged. "Yeah, but where are we gonna put him?" she asked. "We can't just leave him in the kitchen." She paused. "Maybe stick him in a closet, or something." She sniggered.

Pikachu didn't respond, continuing to stare at the floor.

"Your team is, fortunately, the only one that brought back an outlaw today, so we only have to deal with the one."

"We _were_?" Maractus asked.

"Yes." Blaziken paused. "But where to put him..."

Buneary blinked as realisation came to her, but she hesitated. Did she really want to suggest _that_? It might not be the smartest or most sensible of ideas. However, she needed answers and she was determined to get them.

"There's a spare bed in _my_ room!" she said.

Grumpig and Maractus stared at her like she'd grown another head. "Are you _crazy_?" Grumpig asked. "He's an outlaw! A dangerous criminal! We can't allow him to share a room with you!"

"Yeah!" Maractus added. "It's not safe! Tell her, guildmaster!"

Blaziken narrowed her eyes a fraction, but said nothing. Buneary felt like she was being scrutinised under the fire/fighting-type's gaze and it made her uncomfortable.

After what felt like an eternity, Blaziken nodded. "Very well, then," she replied.

"_What_?" both Grumpig and Maractus shrieked at the same time.

"But, guildmaster...!" Maractus cried.

"He may take your spare bed for the night. I trust that you are capable of handling him. However, if he gives you any trouble... any trouble at all... come to me instantly. Am I clear on that?"

Buneary beamed at her. "Yes, ma'am!" she replied.

As Blaziken left the kitchen - Grumpig and Maractus staring after her in disbelief - Buneary looked back down at Pikachu, whose eyes were still overflowing with pain. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but she was determined to find out, one way or another. It was set to be an interesting night...


	4. Turnabout

Author's note: Hello again!

Um... enjoy and stuff, I guess. XD

* * *

**Chapter Four: Turnabout**

Buneary held out another apple for Pikachu. Still looking as distant and miserable as when he'd first woken up, he bit into it and chewed.

She imagined it was rather degrading to be fed like this, but she'd been given strict instuctions from Blaziken not to untie him. Affter all, an outlaw could be unpredicatable and dangerous if let loose. She wasn't so sure Pikachu was dangerous, looking at him as he was, but one could never be too sure.

It also hadn't escaped her notice that everyone else in the guild had been eyeing Pikachu with varying degrees of distaste. They'd all been informed of him staying the night, but no one was very happy about it.

"I still think you're crazy for doing this, kid..." Grumpig said, watching Pikachu warily as she bit into an Oran berry.

"Yeah..." Maractus agreed, rolling her apple around her plate. She looked up at Buneary. "Are you sure you'll be alright? Do you wanna swap rooms with me for the night?"

Buneary thought about this for a moment. It would certainly be a lot safer sleeping in Grumpig's room, though there were still questions that she was burning to ask the outlaw. Tonight was her best and only chance, as Officer Magnezone would be coming for him in the morning, so she simply had to do this.

She shook her head and smiled. "Nah, I'll be fine," she replied.

Grumpig swallowed her food. "I can't believe the guildmaster allowed this..." she said. "What on Earth was she thinking?"

"I've no idea," Maractus replied, "but I don't like it."

"I'll be fine!" Buneary insisted.

Grumpig held her gaze for a few moments. "Just make sure to keep him tied up, alright?" she said.

"And come straight _to_ us if anything happens!" Maractus added.

"You can never be too careful with an outlaw."

"I still think we should swap rooms!"

Buneary sighed as she held the apple out for Pikachu again. He wordlessly took another bite.

* * *

Eventually, it was time for the guild to sleep, so Grumpig and Maractus had carried Pikachu - who was still tied up - to Buneary's room and dumped him on the spare bed. They'd asked her several more times if she was sure she'd be alright before she finally managed to get rid of them.

Sighing, she turned away from the closed door to the outlaw sitting on a pile of hay. He was staring blankly at the wall, still making no attempt to struggle free of the ropes. He'd been like this all night and it was starting to worry her. Had they somehow broken him?

She smiled encouragingly and walked over to him. "Hey there," she said. He looked up at her, eyes still as dead as ever. She flinched, but tried to keep smiling. "Um... how are you feeling?"

He looked away again. "What does it matter?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"I'll only be hauled off to jail tomorrow, anyway..."

"... Well... yeah, but..."

"Outlaws shouldn't socialise with explorers..."

She blinked. He was certainly an odd one. Choosing to give him some space, she walked over to her own bed and sat down on it. "I know we shouldn't really socialise, but..." She didn't really know where to go from there.

"... I'm not getting my scarf back, am I?"

"Huh? Oh... well, no... Blaziken said she'd shipped all your items off to Honchkrow Lost and Found... since they were all stolen."

"Oh..."

An awkward silence followed, where Pikachu continued to stare mindlessly at the wall behind Buneary. She wanted to talk to him, but he didn't seem all that keen. After a few moments, she decided to go for the throat.

"Why were you stealing those items?" His ears twitched a fraction. "You should know it isn't nice taking other Pokemon's things..."

He was silent for a moment. "I'm an outlaw. That's what I do."

"You can choose _not_ to be an outlaw..."

He gave a hollow chuckle, still not looking at her. "Right..."

She felt a jolt of annoyance. "You _can_! I chose to be an explorer, so _you_ didn't have to choose to be an outlaw!"

He turned to look at her, but said nothing. He turned away again. "It's a little late for that _now_, isn't it?"

Her anger evaporated. "Well..."

"I chose my path, just like _you_ chose _yours_..." He looked at the floor. "You're either one or the other... an explorer or an outlaw... You can't be both."

"I guess..."

He looked back up at her. "I'm an outlaw and I got caught... so I'm going to jail. That's all there is to it."

"... But... surely, you don't _want_ to go to jail?"

He gave a quiet sigh. "Of course I don't... but I don't exactly have a choice, do I?" He looked away. "I did the crime, so, now, I'm gonna do the time..."

She stared at him in silence for a moment. "... Do you enjoy it?"

He looked back at her. "Hmm?"

"Stealing." She frowned slightly. "Do you enjoy it?"

His eyes widened a fraction. It was the most emotion she'd seen from him since his capture. It vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. He looked at the floor. "Not really..."

She blinked in surprise. She didn't know what response she'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been _that_. "You don't?"

"No..."

"Then... why do it?"

"... Because it's who I am..."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"It's who I am, who I've grown up to be..." He looked up at her. "I've been an outlaw most of my life..."

She blinked again. "You have?"

"Mmm-hmm..." He paused. "What about _you_?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you been an explorer?"

"Oh. Well, I just started last week... though I've wanted to _be_ one for... most of my life, really."

"I see..."

"... You looked really miserable when we caught you."

He looked away again. "Yeah..."

"Was there... any reason for that?"

He was silent for a few moments. "It wasn't supposed to be like this..."

"Huh?"

He looked back at her. "I wasn't supposed to be captured... I was supposed to win... and get away..." He looked away again. "But I didn't..."

She blinked. "Well, no... When an explorer takes on a job, they're supposed to see it through..."

"Yeah, but... it wasn't supposed to be this way..." Tears suddenly appeared in his eyes, startling Buneary. "I just wanted to be a good outlaw... I just wanted... Arceus..."

"P-Pikachu?" He looked at her, his eyes swimming with emotion. "What's wrong?"

He sniffled and shook his head, then looked at the floor. "I was only trying to get by... Only trying to..." He paused. "Being an outlaw is all I know... all I've _ever_ known... and..." He shook his head again. "I never wanted to hurt anybody..." He paused again. "I'm so sorry..."

She wasn't sure what he was apologising for, but he was breaking her heart. This poor, misguided Pikachu was clearly a very nice guy underneath. All the stories she'd been fed about outlaws being evil, cold and calculating just didn't match the watery-eyed mouse in front of her.

"Pikachu..."

He sniffled again. "Sorry... Getting upset won't help me..."

She leaned against the wall behind her, observing the outlaw. She wished she could do something to help him. It was clear that this ordeal had taken its toll on the guy. On the other hand, though, he was still an outlaw and outlaws needed to be punished for their crimes against Pokemon. She felt confused.

"... Maybe we should just get some sleep..."

"Yeah..." He paused. "Can you lie me on my side?"

"Huh?" It took a moment for her to understand what he meant. "Oh! Sure." Hopping off her bed, she walked over to him and grabbed his ropes. Slowly, she pulled him downwards.

"Careful..." Soon, he was lying on his side. "Thanks."

"No problem." She paused. "Sorry I can't untie you."

"It's fine, I understand. Being an outlaw and all..."

"Yeah..."

Still feeling unsure about the whole situation, she walked back over to her bed and lay down on it. Was there anything she could do? She wasn't sure. She _would_ say that she'd sleep on it, but there wouldn't be much she could do by morning, anyway. She closed her eyes.

"... Goodnight."

Her eyes snapped open in surprise. After a moment, she smiled and closed them again. "Goodnight..."

* * *

The loud clanging of the morning bell rang out across the guild. Buneary jolted awake, quite used to this routine.

"Gah!" a Pikachu's voice yelped before there was a huge thud.

_Wait..._ Buneary thought, _a Pikachu!_ She quickly opened her eyes and sat up in bed to see yesterday's tied-up outlaw lying face-down on the floor.

"Up and at 'em, campers!" Empoleon called out through the speakers. "It's morning!"

Hopping off her bed, she walked across the room, grabbed the ropes around Pikachu and hauled him onto his back. He looked very disorientated.

"Wh... What the heck was _that_?" he asked.

Buneary chuckled bashfully. "That's our morning wake-up call here at the guild," she replied.

"... You explorers are crazy..."

Buneary giggled.

Suddenly, the door flew open. She snapped her head around to see Grumpig and Maractus standing there, on-guard.

"Buneary, is everything okay?" Grumpig asked.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Maractus asked.

"Is the outlaw secure?"

"I'm fine, guys..." Buneary replied with a tired smile.

"Are you sure?" Maractus asked.

"I said I'd come to you if there was any problem... but there wasn't."

"... Well, good," Grumpig replied. "Glad to know you're okay."

"We'd best get to assembly," Maractus said with a smile.

"Yeah." Grumpig smirked. "And we'd best bring the outlaw."

* * *

Every Pokemon pumped an arm into the air. "Rescue!" they cried. They pumped their arms a second time. "Arrest!" They pumped their arms a third time. "Earn!"

"And remember..." Blaziken said.

"Smiles go for miles!"

"Alright, everyone, time to get to work."

Everyone pumped their arms a fourth time. "Huzzah!"

After Blaziken nodded her approval, the guild members all began to separate into their groups.

"... Was _that_ normal for you, too?" Pikachu asked.

Buneary turned to him with a smile. "Yup!" she replied. "We do that every morning!"

He looked away, an incredulous look on his face. "This place is weird..."

She giggled at him.

"Team Nebula?" Blaziken called out. They all turned to her.

"Yes, Blaziken?" Grumpig asked.

"If you would bring the outlaw over here..."

"Of course."

Grumpig grabbed the ropes that were binding Pikachu and began to pull him towards their guildmaster. In response, he calmly walked in step with her. Buneary and Maractus walked alongside and all four stopped when they reached Blaziken. Grumpig kept her hand on the ropes.

"I've received word from Officer Magnezone and he should be here very soon. I want you three to watch the outlaw until he arrives."

Maractus saluted. "Aye aye!" she replied.

Grumpig yanked Pikachu towards her, but the sudden movement made him trip and fall over. His head landed on Blaziken's foot.

"Pikachu!" Buneary cried, rushing over to help him up.

Pikachu didn't respond, instead looking miserably at the floor. She remembered the conversation that they'd had the night before and felt her heart ache at the sight of him. He looked quite pitiful right now.

* * *

A while later, Officer Magnezone and two of his Magnemite underlings arrived. As the other exploration teams gathered around to watch, he thanked Team Nebula and gave them their reward while the Magnemite floated on either side of Pikachu.

"Yay!" Maractus said, spinning around. "My grass gummi!"

Grumpig smirked. "Try not to overwork yourself in the future, okay, officer?" she said.

Officer Magnezone chuckled. "Yes, yes..." he replied, "I will try." He turned to the Magnemite. "Alright, you two, it's time to head out."

"Yes, sir!" they both replied.

"Let's go, you," one of them said to Pikachu before nudging him with his magnet. Pikachu wordlessly began to walk in step with the three electric/steel-types.

It was at this moment, as Buneary watched the three of them move towards the ladder, that an idea struck her. It was crazy - far crazier than the idea of Pikachu sleeping in her room - but she felt an incredible impulse to suggest it.

"Wait!" she cried.

Everyone stopped to look at her. Even Pikachu looked confused.

"Buneary?" Grumpig asked.

"Is there a problem?" Officer Magnezone asked.

Confident and determined, she turned to her guildmaster. "Blaziken..." she said, "I..." She hesitated, her confidence waning. She could feel the many pairs of eyes in the room all focused on _her_. She took a deep breath and continued. "I wanna form a team with Pikachu!"

All sets of eyes bulged in disbelief. "_What_?" Grumpig and Maractus asked at the same time.

"Are you _crazy_?" Grumpig asked. "At _this_ point, I really think you're crazy!"

"You can't be serious!" Whimsicott called out from across the room.

"The girl's lost her mind!" Pansear cried.

Buneary's face burned. She felt like crawling into a hole, but she wasn't about to back down. "Please, guildmaster," she said, "let me form a team with Pikachu... He's a really nice guy underneath and... I think I have what it takes to help him..."

Blaziken blinked at her for a few moments, then slowly folded her arms. She looked over at Empoleon and the two shared a glance.

"Buneary, seriously..." Grumpig said, "have you been sniffing the Grimy Food in Umbreon's treasure bag?"

"Hey..." Umbreon said.

"What is _wrong_ with you?"

"I just..." Buneary replied. "Don't ask why, but this is something I need to do... He has it in him to be a good Pokemon. He just... needs someone to help guide him, is all."

"You do realise," Officer Magnezone said, "that Pikachu is an outlaw... and, as such, it is our job to take him to Sawk and Throh Boot Camp for rehabilitation..."

"Yes... but I also realised that he has what it takes to change... to become a better Pokemon... All he needs is some help."

Blaziken turned back to her, narrowing her eyes slightly, and analysed her for a few moments. The silence was agonising.

Eventually, she nodded. "Very well, then," she replied.

"_What_?" Grumpig asked.

"It's... uncommon practice, but I will allow you to form an exploration team with this Pikachu... on the condition that, should anything go wrong... anything at all... you are to report to me immediately. Is that clear?"

Buneary's face broke into a wide grin. She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ma'am!" she replied.

Blaziken nodded back, then turned to the electric/steel-types. "Officer Magnezone?"

Buneary turned to them to see that they looked quite shell-shocked.

"V-Very well, then..." Officer Magnezone replied, "i-if you have given your say-so... then... Magnemite!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" both Magnemite replied.

"Sonic Boom!" one of them cried. A gust of sharp air flew from one of his magnets and sliced through Pikachu's ropes.

"There you go, kid," the other one said, shoving Pikachu in the back. He stumbled over to where Buneary was. "Looks like you got lucky."

Pikachu stared into the distance with a look of pure shock on his face.

"... Well, I guess I'll be off, then..." Officer Magnezone said. "I'll let your exploration teams get on with their jobs for the day." He looked at Pikachu. "You'd best behave yourself, Mr. Outlaw." He turned to his underlings. "Let's go, Magnemite!"

"Yes, sir!" they both replied. The three Pokemon floated towards the exit.

After they'd left, Buneary smiled at Pikachu. "Looks like we're a team now!" she said.

He continued to stare off into the distance, then his look of shock turned into a look of horror. "Oh, Arceus..." he said.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, Arceus, no..." He grabbed his head. "This might... actually be _worse_..."

She blinked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"Buneary?" Blaziken said. Buneary looked up at her. The fire/fighting-type smiled. "Meet me in my office to make your new team official."

She beamed at her. "Okay!"

Blaziken nodded, then retreated into her office. Empoleon left to attend to other matters.

Buneary turned back to the electric-type. "Come on, Pikachu, let's go make our new team official!"

"... You're a fool," Whimsicott said from right next to her.

She turned to her. "Huh?"

She was quite alarmed to see such a deadly glare on the grass-type's face. "You really think you can change him? Just how stupid _are_ you?"

"Wha-?"

"Explorers and outlaws don't mix. You should know this. Any explorer worth their salt knows this."

"But I-"

"Though, if you're gonna insist on being _his_ friend, then you're no longer _mine_..." She walked off. As she passed Corsola, the water/rock-type cast Buneary an anxious look before following Whimsicott.

Buneary stared after them, shocked and hurt. She'd thought that Team Cuties were her friends, but they were abandoning her because she'd chosen to form a team with an outlaw?

"... Kid?" Grumpig said. She dazedly looked up at her. "_I_ may not approve of what you're doing, either... but I'm willing to support you."

"Me too!" Maractus said. "Even though there's never been an outlaw joining a guild before..."

"With good reason..." Banette said from nearby.

"Hush! I trust your judgement... even if I don't fully trust the outlaw yet."

Buneary smiled, touched by her team's words. "Thanks, guys," she said.

Grumpig smirked. "So, I guess this means you're leaving us, then, huh?" she asked.

Buneary giggled. "Well, I'm forming a new team, but we'll still be friends, right?"

"Oh, of course we will!" Maractus replied, grabbing Buneary in a surprise hug. She yelped from the pain.

Grumpig sighed and shook her head with a smile. She then turned to Pikachu. "Hey, outlaw," she said, "try to look a little more grateful, will ya? Buneary saved your butt from being hauled off to jail back there."

Pikachu looked at her with wide eyes. "But... I can't be on an exploration team!" he cried. "I can't!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, while Buneary tried to break free of the painful hug. "And why not?"

"I... just can't..." He looked at the floor. "An outlaw can't become an explorer... It's disgraceful..."

"More disgraceful than going to jail? Buneary made an effort to give you a second chance and you're just gonna throw it back in her face? She did this for _you_, so you can at least _try_..." She paused. "If it was up to _me_, you'd be doing a thousand push-ups at boot camp..."

Finally managing to break loose, Buneary nursed the sore spots along her arms. Looking up, she caught Pikachu's gaze. He held it for a few moments before heaving a sigh.

"Alright, fine... Where do we sign up?"

Buneary beamed at him, then grabbed his paw and dragged him towards Blaziken's office.


	5. From The Top

Author's note: Hello again! And welcome to the fifth installment of my Mystery Dungeon fic!

While halfway through this chapter, I started up a new game file, just to help myself with missions and such... and discovered some interesting facts I'd forgotten about... so they'll be in this chapter! Enjoy!

**Chapter Five****: From The Top**

Buneary's grin widened when she saw Blaziken, who was seated on a swivel chair by her desk. Stopping in the middle of the room, she let go of Pikachu's paw and waited. A moment later, the fire/fighting-type spun around in her swivel chair and smiled at them, then stood up.

"So, I take it you're ready to make your new team official?" she asked.

"Yes!" Buneary replied. "Let's make an exploration team!"

Blaziken nodded. "Very well, then." She looked at Pikachu. "Are _you_ alright with this?"

"Huh?" Pikachu asked. "Oh... uh, yeah... sure..."

"Alright. Then what will your new team name be?"

Buneary blinked. "Huh?" she asked.

"In order to start an exploration team, you first need a team name. Since you're no longer part of Team Nebula, you'll need to invent a _new_ one."

"Oh... Oh! Of course! Well, let's see..." She turned to Pikachu. "What should we call our new team?"

"I dunno. Team Pokémon?"

"That's boring!"

"Team Pikachu and Buneary?"

"Oh, come on!"

Pikachu looked away miserably. "Look, I'm new at this explorer stuff, okay?" He lowered his voice to a murmur. "And I still don't think I should _be_ here..."

"What about... Team..." Buneary wracked her brain. "EleNorm? No... Team NormEle? No... Team... Long Ears? No..."

"I don't really care, honestly..."

"Team..." She thought long and hard for a few minutes, then an idea hit her. "Team Lagomorph!"

"Lago-what?"

"Lagomorph! It suits us, 'cause I'm a rabbit and you're a... Well, you're not _technically_ a lagomorph, but you're close enough!"

Pikachu stared at her for a second, then shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

Buneary turned to Blaziken, who was waiting patiently with her arms folded. "Then that settles it! We're Team Lagomorph!"

Blaziken smiled. "Alright, then," she replied. "Welcome aboard, Team Lagomorph. Let me just get your equipment." She moved to the other side of the room and began to look through some drawers.

It was at this point that something caught Buneary's eye: a small frame that was standing on Blaziken's desk. Curious, she edged a bit closer to get a look at it. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a coloured sketch of two Pokémon. A Piplup had its flipper around a Torchic and the two were happily blushing at each other.

When Blaziken returned, she was carrying two treasure bags, which she tossed to Pikachu and Buneary. Buneary caught hers, but Pikachu's landed on the floor.

"Thanks!" Buneary said.

"Yeah, thanks..." Pikachu added.

"You're welcome. Now, inside your treasure bags, you'll find your explorer badges, your wonder maps and a defense scarf each." She paused. "Do with them what you wish."

"Thank you." Buneary paused. "Um, guildmaster?"

"Yes, Buneary?"

Buneary pointed at the frame. "Is that...?"

Blaziken looked where she was pointing and chuckled lightly. "Yes, that's me and Empoleon, back when we were explorers."

"You mean back when you were Team Destiny?" Buneary's eyes sparkled.

Blaziken looked back at her with a vaguely amused expression. "Ah, so you know about that? Yes, back when we were Team Destiny."

Buneary tried very hard not to squeal in delight. "That is so cool!"

"Well, thank you... although, now, my partner and I prefer to spend our time creating _new_ exploration teams."

"Like us!"

"Yes, like you."

"... Thank you for giving Pikachu a chance, guildmaster. I appreciate it."

"... You're very welcome."

"I won't let you down, I promise!"

Blaziken smiled. "I'm counting on it." She paused a moment. "Ah, yes. Before you go, I would recommend starting out at rank E."

Buneary's face fell. "Rank E?"

"Yes. I know you've managed to defeat a C rank outlaw with Team Nebula, but Team Lagomorph is brand new... and at normal rank. It would be best to start small, just to get a grasp on things."

"I understand..."

"I'm sure, within no time at all, you'll be back on C ranks and, possibly, higher... but, for now, at least, please stick to the E ranks."

"Yes, guildmaster..."

Blaziken nodded. "Alright. Now, off you go, you two. Time to get started on your first mission."

Snapping out of her funk, Buneary saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" She turned to her partner. "Come on, Pikachu, let's go!"

"Sure..." Pikachu replied.

She grabbed his paw and dragged him back outside. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw Grumpig and Maractus waiting for her.

"So?" Maractus asked excitedly. "How did it go?"

Buneary beamed. "Great!" she replied. "We're an official team now!"

"That's great, kid!" Grumpig said. "So, what's your team name?"

"Team Lagomorph!"

"Lagomorph, huh?" Grumpig paused a moment. "I like it!"

"Me too!" Maractus said. "It sounds kinda cute!"

"Thanks!" Buneary replied.

"... I'd have been better off in rehab..." Pikachu muttered in a horrified tone.

Buneary looked at him and saw that he was staring at the floor with wide eyes.

"You're so ungrateful, you know that?" Grumpig said.

"Yeah!" Maractus added. "Be nice to Buneary!"

Was this a bad idea? Buneary was starting to wonder. Looking at Pikachu right now, he clearly wasn't the least bit happy about this.

Shaking it off, she bore a determined smile. "Don't worry!" she said. "_I'll_ be your rehab!"

There was a pause. "Seriously, Buneary?" Grumpig asked.

"Daww!" Maractus said. She giggled. "That's sweet!"

Pikachu gave Buneary a strange look that looked both confused and disturbed at the same time.

"Maybe you should go check out the bulletin board," Grumpig said.

"Oh yeah!" Buneary replied. She paused. "Oh... Blaziken said we should take rank Es to start with."

"Really?" Maractus asked.

"Well, I guess it makes sense..." Grumpig said. "Pikachu's pretty new at this and it's your first time leading a team."

"Yeah..." Buneary replied.

All that progress she'd made over the past week and she had to start all over again. She'd never become the world's best explorer at _this_ rate.

"Well, come on, then. We best get you started."

"Right!" Maractus agreed. "The faster you get the E ranks out of the way, the faster you can start climbing the ranks again!"

This managed to cheer Buneary up. "Yeah, you're right," she replied. "Okay! Let's go!"

* * *

"So!" Maractus said, waving a hand at the bulletin board. "Which mission do you wanna try?"

Pikachu stared at the board. Buneary couldn't tell if that was intrigue or abject horror on his face.

"Um..." he replied.

"Maybe you should start with a rescue!"

"Yeah," Buneary replied, "that could work."

"Or..." Grumpig said, "you could start with an item fetch." She looked at Buneary. "What do you _think_?"

"Hmm..." She thought about it for a minute, then realised that the latter would probably be the better option for an outlaw learning the ropes of being an explorer. She nodded. "We'll do an item fetch!"

"You sure, kid?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, then." She looked back the board. "What have we got?"

"Hmm, let's see..." Maractus said, scanning the board. "Oh, here's a good one!" She pulled it off and handed it to Buneary. "What do you think?"

"Find Warp Seed," Buneary read. "'Warp Seed! So convenient to have! Please help! You're my only hope!" Client: Chingling. Beach Cave. Rank E. Reward: one thousand poke."

Pikachu's ears perked up. "One thousand poke?" he asked.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid," Grumpig replied. "We're not _that_ well-paid."

His ears drooped. "You're not?"

"Nope!" Maractus replied. "We only get ten percent of the reward, 'cause Blaziken needs the rest for the guild!"

He frowned in confusion. "What could she need all that money for?"

"Beats me! Though I guess she needs to pay everyone in Venture Village... as well as keep the guild looking nice... _and_ afford all the food and supplies..."

"Alright, alright, I get it..."

Buneary held up the poster. "So, what do you think, Pikachu?" she asked excitedly. "Do you wanna do this mission?"

"Yeah, whatever..."

"Great!" She stuffed the poster into her treasure bag. "Then let's go!"

"See you later, you two," Grumpig said.

"Yeah!" Maractus added. "Be sure to tell us how it went!"

"I will," Buneary replied. "Bye!"

* * *

As Team Lagomorph entered the outskirts of Treasure Town - their Defense Scarves around their necks and only one of them working - Pikachu seemed to grow more and more fidgety, looking around him every few seconds. Buneary wasn't sure why. Was he as excited as _she_ was? True, she already had a week's worth of experience in the field, but it was just so thrilling to finally lead her own exploration team! She was practically buzzing with anticipation!

"This was a bad idea..." Pikachu muttered.

"Huh?" Buneary asked with concern.

"Let's just go..."

She looked up at the bustling residents of Treasure Town, all happily going about their business around the many stalls. Some were walking down the hill from the Wigglytuff Guild, laughing and joking as they entered the crowd, and she suddenly realised what was wrong.

"Oh... you think they might recognise you?"

"Probably..."

She thought about it for a moment, then gave him a small smile. "Hey, don't worry. I doubt any of them will know who you are... and they _certainly_ won't think you're the same Pikachu from..." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then lowered her voice. "The wanted poster." She paused again. "Heck, they might not have even _seen_ the wanted poster."

"I... guess, but..."

"Hey, don't worry, it'll be fine. Come on." She headed down to the beach.

Pikachu heaved a sigh and followed after her.

* * *

"Remember when Team Destiny saved the planet from paralysis?" Buneary asked as they trudged though Beach Cave, past a Shellos that they'd just knocked out.

"Uh huh..." Pikachu replied distractedly.

"Everyone thought that, when time went back in synch, the Pokémon in the dungeons would calm down... but they didn't, did they? There are still outlaws and territorial Pokémon _everywhere_."

"Uh huh..."

"It's really weird... but, in a way, I'm glad it didn't get fixed... because it meant I could finally become an explorer!"

"Yeah, that's great..."

She turned to him. "Pikachu?"

He looked at her. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah... sure..." A loud bang echoed through the cave. Pikachu yelped and hid behind Buneary.

Her eyes widened in alarm. "What's wrong, Pikachu?"

"Nothing!"

Buneary looked around, wondering what the noise had been. After a moment, a grumpy-looking Shellder bounced past, completely ignoring them.

"It seemed to be a... fight, or something? I'm not sure."

"Oh..." Pikachu exhaled deeply. "Okay..."

She eyed him warily. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... fine..."

"... Well, okay. Come on."

* * *

Eventually, after fighting off various water-type Pokémon, they found the Warp Seed lying on the ground.

Buneary grinned. "There it is!" she cried.

"Cool," Pikachu replied absently, picking it up.

"Now we need to take it back to the guild and give it to Chingling!" Pikachu didn't respond. Instead, he stared in awe at the seed. "Pikachu?"

"You said this was a Warp Seed, right?"

"Yeah?" He held it to his chest. This immediately made her suspicious. "Wait... you're not thinking of...?"

"It's only one Warp Seed, right? Chingling won't miss it."

Buneary frowned. "Pikachu!" He looked at her. "We are explorers! And, as explorers, it is our duty to be heroes of the community! To stand up for the Pokémon who can't stand up for themselves! To protect _and_ to serve!" He stared at her. She huffed. "We need to return it."

"But..."

"No! You're not an outlaw anymore, you're an explorer! And you need to start _behaving_ like an explorer!"

He heaved an annoyed sigh. "Fine..."

She smiled. "Good!" Pulling out her badge, she placed a paw on Pikachu's arm. "Now, hold on to your stomach!"

"Wha-?"

* * *

"Oh, Arceus, I feel sick..." Pikachu mumbled, wobbling around a little back at the guild.

"Hey, Chingling!" Buneary called out. "We got your Warp Seed!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Chingling replied, bounding over and taking the Warp Seed from Pikachu. Behind her were two money bags.

"Wait..." Pikachu said, "how did she know we'd _be_ here?"

Chingling giggled. "Oh, you must be new. You see, when a Pokémon sends out a letter, it gets delivered to a random guild... then a random team from that random guild takes the job... and the guildmaster of that random guild sends a letter back to the Pokémon who sent the _original_ letter, to tell them that a team has taken their job!" Pikachu stared blankly at her. "It's a complicated process." Buneary giggled. "Anyway, thanks so much for bringing me my Warp Seed!" She bounded back to the bulletin board, grabbed both bags with the tassels on her head and bounded back again. "As a token of my appreciation, take this!" She handed Buneary a bag. "One hundred poke for _you_..." She handed Pikachu the other bag. "And nine hundred poke for your guild!"

Pikachu stared in awe at the bag in his paws.

Buneary beamed. "Thanks, Chingling!" she said.

Chingling beamed back. "No problem! See ya!"

"See ya!"

Chingling bounded away. Once she was out of sight, Buneary looked at Pikachu to see that he was still staring at the bag. She cleared her throat - causing him to look at her - then gave him a look of disapproval. His ears drooped and he stared at the floor.

* * *

Later, after catching up with Team Nebula, Grumpig invited them to Flower Cafe. For a while now, Buneary had been keen to visit Flower Cafe, but had never had the time, nor the opportunity, so she was really excited. Pikachu didn't look terribly thrilled, but he didn't look terribly thrilled about _anything_, sadly.

Once inside, her eyes lit up with wonder. The place was almost like a jungle, as the walls were covered in vines and various colourful flowers. She could even hear a pleasant tropical song playing somewhere in the background. All four of them approached the counter, where a Lilligant beamed at them.

"Hello there!" she said. "What can I get you?"

Buneary looked around for a menu, but couldn't see one. She became confused. Maractus, however, placed four gummis on the table: a red one, a blue one, a grass one and an orange one.

"Here you go!" she said.

"Thank you kindly." Lilligant scooped one up and placed it in a blender. "So, are these two cuties your new teammates?"

"Nope!" Maractus indicated them. "This is Team Lagomorph! They just started _today_! Kind of."

"Oh, how nice! Well, I'm Lilligant. You bring me delicious foods and I mix them into smoothies!"

Buneary's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Mmm-hmm!" She pointed to the Roserade on the other side of the room, who was also behind a counter. "Over there's my mate, Roserade. He runs the recycle shop, where you can trade in your items!"

"Cool!"

"Hi there!" a voice said. Everyone looked down to see a Petilil poking her head around the counter.

"And this is our daughter, Petilil."

"I help out around the shop!"

"Indeed she does."

"Aww!" Buneary cooed.

"Please, feel free to seat yourselves. Petilil will bring your drinks shortly."

"I get to do stuff!" Petilil cried happily.

"Alright," Grumpig replied, "come on, guys."

The four of the them trudged across the room and sat themselves down at a table. Buneary was in awe, though she could see that Pikachu was looking around nervously again. After a few moments, she could understand why, as Team Cuties and Team Shadow walked in, placed their orders and sat themselves down.

Whimsicott glared daggers at Pikachu, who was doing his best not to look at her, and Corsola was fidgeting, looking anywhere but at Pikachu. Umbreon warily observed Pikachu for a few moments, then looked away, and Banette kept looking back at Pikachu every few seconds.

"So..." Grumpig said, "how'd your first mission go?"

"Pretty well..." Buneary replied, feeling awkward under the intense gazes.

"Great!" Maractus replied.

"We had some gummis lying around in storage," Grumpig explained, "so we thought we'd share 'em with you."

"Ah, okay," Buneary replied.

"Drinks here!" Petilil said, siddling up to them with a drinks tray balanced on her head.

"Thanks," Grumpig said, pulling off two glasses.

"Yeah, thanks!" Maractus added, grabbing the other two.

"Keep up the good work! And..." Petilil pondered her words for a moment. "Bring in the nasty outlaws!" She siddled away again.

A scoff could be heard across the room. "No need," Whimsicott said. "There's one right there."

Banette chuckled, causing Umbreon to raise an eyebrow at his teammate. The owners of the cafe looked confused at the comment and Pikachu lowered himself in his chair. Feeling rather upset, Buneary turned away.

"So, who wants what, here?" Grumpig asked.

"Dibs on _this_ one!" Maractus cried, yanking the grass smoothie towards her and sipping it. She smiled. "Mmmmm..."

"Alright, Buneary, which one do _you_ want?"

"_This_ one, I guess," Buneary replied, pulling the blue smoothie towards her.

"Okay, I'll have _this_ one." Grumpig pulled the red smoothie towards her, then turned to Pikachu. "So, that leaves you with _this_ one." She pushed the orange smoothie towards him. "You alright with that?"

"Sure..." Pikachu replied, sipping the orange smoothie.

As everyone sipped their own smoothies, Buneary tasted hers. It was slightly creamy, yet rather salty, and somehow reminded her of the ocean. She stopped sipping.

"Is this one for water-types?" she asked.

Grumpig stopped sipping. "Yeah," she replied, "just like mine is for fire-types. Sorry. I _would've_ given you gummis to match your types, but we didn't have any... except for Maractus'."

"Yay!" Maractus said.

"Oh, okay," Buneary replied. "Well, thanks anyway." She went back to her sipping.

Chancing another glance at Team Cuties, she looked over at them. Fortunately, Whimsicott wasn't looking in her direction anymore, but her form seemed to be rather stiff as she waited for her smoothie. She gave a quiet sigh.

Why did it have to come to this? Sure, she'd only known the grass-type for a week, but she'd thought they were friends. Was befriending an outlaw really that terrible? Had she made the right choice?

She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to back out of it now. Pikachu had only barely been given his chance to prove himself and, gosh-darn it, she was going to help him do just that! After all, a true explorer takes on any challenge to the bitter end!

She could just imagine it: a world of chaos, where outlaws roamed free and tainted the land. Then one lone hero rises from the dust, to cleanse and purify all who have darkness in their hearts! They would call her the savior of Pokémon kind! The one who fixed what time itself could not fix!

... Well, maybe she was getting ahead of herself. But still, it was a nice thought. She looked away from Team Cuties, continuing to sip her smoothie.


End file.
